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Alternatively you can view Update Fall 2014 in PDF format at http://go.wisc.edu/f14digital.

Roger Rashman, Ph.B. '38, celebrated his 100th birthday on October 21, 2014. He is in excellent health but his golf game is only fair. He welcomes messages from other centenarians!

Roger Rashman, Ph.B. '38

Conrad Siegel, M.S. '56, was chosen as 2014 Champion of Philanthropy by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities. TFEC is a community foundation serving central Pennsylvania. Conrad served as chair of the TFEC board and was chair of the Investment Advisory Committee for 15 years.

Conrad Siegel, M.S. '56

Joan Brossard, BBA '50, is partnering with her daughter Anna Brossard Fitzsimmons, MBA UW–Whitewater ’86, as “encore entrepreneurs” launching a pet products company, BarkBed Covers. The Arizona-based start-up will supply some of the 56 million dog-owning households with fast, easy, washable dog bed covers. They are working on building an e-commerce site, sourcing materials and sewers, attending trade shows, and loving dogs, business, and adventure.

Joan Brossard, BBA '50

Jo Jean Janus, BBA '58, is happy to share that her family business, The Kehl School of Dance, is celebrating 135 years of management under four generations of UW graduates. Her two grandsons are now attending UW–Madison and UW–Milwaukee.

Jo Jean Janus, BBA '58

Brian Smith, BBA ’67, MBA ’69, is enjoying his time being retired in Keystone, Colo., and Phoenix. He was formerly vice president, marketing, at Hanes and has also worked for Anheuser-Busch and Vail Resorts.

Brian Smith, BBA '67, MBA '69

Eliot Elfner, MBA ’69, recently retired from St. Norbert College where he was of professor of business administration for 86 semesters, teaching management-related topics and serving as the associate dean for social sciences for eight and a half years. He was also the inaugural recipient of the Reverend Dennis Burke, O. Praem, Leadership Award from the College.

Eliot Elfner, MBA '69

Frank Dirnbauer, MBA ’67, is the president and owner of FRD Energy Services LLC Electricity, a brokerage company for commercial customers in north Texas. He met his wife on blind date in Madison and next year will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. He worked for ten years in a prison ministry serving in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice System and also served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army for two years, serving in Vietnam in 1968.

Frank Dirnbauer, MBA '67

Jim Volovich, MBA '67, recently left the workforce. After graduating he spent three years as an army combat infantry officer with service in Vietnam. He then started a career in supply chain, initially with food companies and then crop protection chemical companies.

Jim Volovich, MBA '67

Martin Feldman, BBA '64, and his wife, Janet, returned to campus in October to celebrate his half-century graduation anniversary. Their two sons also graduated from the UW.

Martin Feldman, BBA '64

Peter Barile, MBA '66, was asked to prepare a lecture on the global economy for the Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University titled "The Importance of Innovation in the Global Economy" after making over 35 trips to China since 2012. He has since presented this lecture to four other colleges and universities and published an article in an online magazine at MTSU.

Peter Barile, MBA '66

Ray Groth, BBA '69, is currently a partner at Axum Capital Partners, a private equity group based in Charlotte, N.C. He taught for a number of years at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and before that was an investment banker, focusing on mergers and acquisitions.

Ray Groth, BBA '69

Richard Boyd, BBA '68, is enjoying his retirement and excited to begin a new life after his career in real estate.

Richard Boyd, BBA '68

Richard Howell, BBA '64, MBA '65, joined Arthur Andersen & Co. in Milwaukee upon graduation and has worked in their offices in Denver, Chicago, and Dallas, where he completed his 37 year career at Andersen as an audit partner is 2002. Since then he has taught advanced auditing at Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University. He currently serves on the boards of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. and Luther King Capital Management Funds.

Richard Howell, BBA '64, MBA'65

Richard Vitkus, BBA '61, served as an officer in the U.S. Navy after graduation, then went on to the University of Michigan Law School. He was a partner at Winston & Strawn in Chicago and then became general counsel of Beatrice Foods. He served on the general counsel of several public companies before retiring. He is happily married and keeping busy with eight grandchildren and service on various boards, including the UW Center for Journalism Ethics.

Richard Viktus, BBA '61

Brian Shapiro, BBA '75, MBA '76, was recently elected to the board of directors of Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc., a national financial services organization with wealth management and private banking affiliates in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Brian Shapiro, BBA '75, MBA '76

David Siker, BBA '76, is the general manager at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Venice, Fla. He encourages fellow Badgers to come and visit Venice on the Sun Coast of Florida!

David Siker, BBA '76

David Towne, MBA '77, is now a CPA and chief financial officer of Ebel Signorelli Welke, a full-service advertising agency and branding and marketing consulting firm.

David Towne, MBA '77

Jim Block, B.S. ’73, M.S. ’76, retired from the accounting firm that he helped start in 1986. Johnson Block & Co. Inc. now has over 50 employees and serves thousands of clients throughout southern and southwestern Wisconsin. He continues to work in between trips to the U.P. and Washington Island.

Jim Block, B.S. '73, M.S. '76

John Henderson, BBA '75, is completing his 36th year of practicing law in Boulder, Colo. After graduating from the Wisconsin School of Business, he went on to graduate from the University of Colorado Law School in 1978, where he was the token cheesehead. John was a debater and former president of Hoofers Riding Club at the UW.

John Henderson, BBA '75

Keith Kirchhoff, BBA '76, MBA '78, retired in June from Fiserv in Brookfield, Wis., after an accounting career at Arthur Andersen, Ford Motor, Time Insurance, United Wisconsin Insurance, and Experis. He is loving retirement in Wild Rose, Wis., and heading to Peoria, Ariz., for winter. He is looking forward to coming back for Badger hockey.

Keith Kirchhoff, BBA '76, MBA '78

Linda Benz, M.S. '78, has retired as professor of accounting from Jefferson Community and Technical College, a member institution of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Her husband, Fred, a former UW–Madison faculty member, also retired as professor emeritus in the College of Medicine of the University of Louisville.

Linda Benz, M.S. '78

Marc Rosen, MBA '70, is now consulting with Lasmo Limited in finance, tax, and legal services after spending the last 44 years in finance and tax with corporations in manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, and oil and gas. Additionally, he is working with the UW Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies to advance their work on business engagement.

Marc Rosen, MBA '70

Randy Engen, BBA '78, joined IPC in June of 2014 as vice president of strategic alliances and moved to Houston with his wife Deb.

Randy Engen, BBA '78

Shuku Nishihata, MBA '76, has held the position of financial analyst at Elliott Group for four years, after holding various roles at SONY HQ, Suziki, and Toyota. He is proud of his two children, Motoi Xavier, CEO of Worldwide Frontier, and his daughter, Mari, a piano teacher with a master’s of harpsichord from the University of Illinois. He spends his free time volunteering for hospice, walking dogs, and playing tuba.

Shuku Nishihata, MBA '76

Stephen P. Jarchow, BBA '74, M.S. '76, J.D. '76, is the chairman of Here Media Inc. and Regent Entertainment Inc. and has received his third Emmy nomination. His films have won two Academy Awards and he hosts the interview show Cinema Conversations.

Stephen P. Jarchow, BBA '74, M.S. '76, J.D. '76

Thomas Pamperin, BBA '70, MBA '73, is working part time following his retirement in 2011 as the deputy undersecretary for disability assistance at the Department of Veterans Affairs after 37 years of service. He and his wife have traveled to Maui, Hawaii; Cancún, Mexico; Tanzania; Zanzibar; and New England this year.

Thomas Pamperin, BBA '70, MBA '73

Timothy Peterson, MBA '76, retired in June 2014 from his position as assistant professor at Gustavus Adolphus College after 17 years teaching in the Economics and Management Department.

Timothy Peterson, MBA '76

William Rauwerdink, BBA '72, started classes at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he teaches a class on entrepreneurship. He is also working to help create another angel investor group in southeast Michigan.

William Rauwerdink, BBA '72

Ben Leshem, BBA '86, is a founding principal of Hefter, Leshem, Margolis Capital Management Group in Deerfield, Ill. The team has been ranked by Barron's as the top wealth management team in Illinois consecutively for the past five years. HLM is currently managing over $3 billion for wealthy families and foundations.

Ben Leshem, BBA '86

Craig Johnson, BBA '80, has joined WISC Partners, a venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley and Madison, as an executive partner. WISC Partners aims to help entrepreneurial ideas and start-ups in Wisconsin reach success by tapping into Badger and Silicon Valley connections and expertise.

Elizabeth First, M.A. '86, is a school secretary at Blessed Sacrament School. Behind the desk and behind the scenes, she helps to make the school a successful experience for children, parents, and teachers. She crunches numbers, bandages knees, manages alumni relations, and answers the telephone. She feels lucky to walk into work everyday hand in hand with her grandson.

Elizabeth First, M.A. '86

Erich Jacobs, B.S. '86, M.S. '87, is now the CEO of ONKÖL, a Milwaukee-based startup focused on enabling the elderly to benefit from modern technology and stay connected with family and caregivers.

Erich Jacobs, B.S. '86, M.S. '87

Ibrahim Morgan, M.S. '79, Ph.D. '83, is a professor in the faculty of commerce at Cairo University in Giza, Egypt.

Ibrahim Morgan, M.S. '79, Ph.D. '83

John H. Beirl, B.A. '80, MBA '82, was promoted to president of Northern State Bank in Ashland, Wis. Located on the picturesque south shore of Lake Superior, Northern State Bank has been proudly serving its local communities since 1933.

John H. Beirl, B.A. '80, MBA '82

Joo-Lee Aw, M.S. '87, started The People at Work in 2000. TPAW is an Asia-focused boutique search consultancy targeted at senior level appointments for multinational organizations. The company now has a team of over 20 people located in three cities: Singapore; Shanghai; and Manila, Philippines. She now lives in Singapore with her husband, another UW–Madison alum, with two girls and two dogs.

Joo-Lee Aw, M.S. '87

Margaret Tennessen, M.A. '89, has been named deputy associate vice chancellor for facilities, planning, and management at UW–Madison. As deputy, Margaret shares in the leadership of a comprehensive support service division offering a full spectrum of facilities management activities for the university.

Margaret Tennessen, M.A. '89

Mark Boebel, BBA '82, founded Boebel Valuation & Tax Services LLC on January 1, 2014, offering business valuation, litigation support, and individual and business consulting services. He is an accredited business valuator and certified valuation analyst.

Mark Boebel, BBA '82

Pat Covey, BBA '87, was recently promoted to president and chief operating officer of U.S. operations for The Davey Tree Expert Company. He has been working at Davey since 1991 and has served in various capacities with increasing responsibility leading up to his current position. His most recent position was executive vice president, operations, which he held since 2007.

Pat Covey, BBA '87

Patrick Gallagher, MBA '87, was named 2012 Real Estate Professional of the Year by the Milwaukee Business Journal and won 2013 Investment Deal of the Year by the Commercial Association of Realtors. He is the proud father of a UW–Madison freshman, Brigid, who is hoping to get into the WSB next year.

Patrick Gallagher, MBA '87

Paul Hees, BBA '83, MBA '88, was among the top ten qualifiers for the Ziegler Cup, held annually for all Ziegler financial advisors. The campaign recognizes advisors for well-rounded practice management and business development skills, with a particular focus on financial planning and goals-based asset management.

Paul Hees, BBA '83, MBA '88

Paul Sticha, M.S. '81, retired in April after nearly 33 years with Sentry Insurance as an actuary. His last position was director of pricing and compliance. Immediately after retirement he and his wife moved to a retirement community in Arizona.

Paul Sticha, M.S. '81

Randall Davidson, BBA '81, MBA '89, was recently honored with the 2014 Edward M. Penson Distinguished Teaching Award from UW–Oshkosh. Davidson is a lecturer in radio, TV, and film, as well as the university's director of radio services. He joined UW–Oshkosh after an 18-year career with Wisconsin Public Radio in Madison, where he was a news anchor and producer as well as the network's chief announcer.

Randall Davidson, BBA '81, MBA '89

Robert Birr, BBA '86, was recently promoted to chief lending officer at Credit Union West, overseeing business, consumer, and real estate lending as well as insurance and financial planning services.

Robert Birr, BBA '86

Robert Garrison, M.S. '77, M.S. '82, worked for nine years in public accounting at Wegner and Associates in Madison after completing his master's degree in accounting. Since 1991, he has been the controller for UW Provision Co., a meat distributor in Middleton, Wis.

Robert Garrison, M.S. '77, M.S. '82

Shawn Fischer, BBA '84, has completed 25 years with New York Life and NYLIFE Securities, providing individuals and businesses insurance and investment services. He is president-elect of Madison South Rotary and a member of Middleton Chamber of Commerce.

Shawn Fischer, BBA '84

Stacy Lang Kahan, BBA '83, is continuing to grow and prosper under Lang Financial Group Chicago. They recently added another venture to their repertoire with a new partner, Bridgeview Financial Services LLC, to help their client partners with insurance services. She enjoys working with smart people to help clients avoid problems through insurance solutions.

Stacy Lang Kahan, BBA '83

Tobias Peabody, MBA '87, was named central Florida market president for BBVA Compass Bank. He was previously the senior vice president of global corporate and investment banking at Bank of America. Tobias is proud of his son, Aaron, who is continuing the tradition as a freshman at the UW.

Tobias Peabody, MBA '87

Todd Finkle, MBA '89, is the Pigott Professor in Entrepreneurship at Gonzaga University. He has taught for 25 years and published over 200 books, articles, and presentations on entrepreneurship. Todd won a national teaching award through the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship and was runner-up for the most innovative entrepreneurship educator in the world by the Academy of Management. He is also a MOOT CORP Fellow through the IC² Institute at the University of Texas at Austin.

Todd Finkle, MBA '89

Tom Hamilton, B.S. '86, M.S. '93, Ph.D. '97, was hired as professor of real estate and Gerald W. Fogelson Distinguished Chair at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Prior to joining Roosevelt, Tom was a commercial real estate professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis for 14 years.

Tom Hamilton, B.S. '86, M.S. '93, Ph.D. '97

Christi Andringa, BBA '91, founded an inspirational speaking and wellness company, Candringa. She speaks all over the country, inspiring audiences to honor their potential to elevate performance both personally and professionally.

Christi Andringa, BBA '91

Christopher Kozina, BBA '92, and his family are moving from Chicago to Denver, where he will be running sales, marketing, and distributing as the president of Coors Distributing Company. He looks forward to connecting to local alumni once they are settled.

Christopher Kozina, BBA '92

Daniel DenBoer, MBA '99, has been hired a strategic advisory partner at KPMG. He provides strategic growth, profitability, and cost optimization advice across both public and private companies on a global basis.

Daniel DenBoer, MBA '99

David Evert, BBA '92, sends the message: “Long live the Breese Terrace Boys!”

David Evert, BBA '91

David Rosenwasser, MBA '97, was appointed as director of the Duree Center for Entrepreneurship at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. He was also selected as a judge for the Students Advancing Global Entrepreneurship World Cup Competition in Moscow in August 2014.

David Rosenwasser, MBA '87

Jayesh Vallabh, BBA '98, recently received his CPA License.

Jayesh Vallabh, BBA '98

Jesse Kolb, BBA '97, was promoted to energy systems manager in the Electric and Fuel Procurement department at San Diego Gas & Electric.

Jesse Kolb, BBA '97

Joe Kremer, MBA '97, is the CEO of Isomark LLC. Isomark was recently awarded a $1.7 million NIH grant to further commercialize its infection monitoring system, the Canary. Using technology developed at the UW, Isomark's breath biomarkers signal when a hospital patient is developing a severe infection. In a proof-of-concept study conducted at the UW Hospital and Clinics, the Canary picked up infections up to two days before standard methods.

Joe Kremer, MBA '97

Joe Lukas, BBA '95, was recently named business finance manager at SITA in Atlanta.

Joe Lukas, BBA '95

John Haslam, BBA '94, J.D '97,an attorney at Wilson Law Group, is an accredited estate planner and estate planning law specialist. These credentials are attained through a formal process of approval by the National Association of Estate Planning Council for those professionals who meet special requirements of education, experience, knowledge, professional distinction, and character.

John Haslam, BBA '94, J.D. '97 '94

John Tramburg, MBA '98, wife Angie Schmitz, M.S. ’98, and children have returned to the U.S. after working in Canada for three years. John is Cabela's vice president of Canada and outdoor services. The Tramburgs remain avid Badger fans while now living in Nebraska.

John Tramburg, MBA '98, Angie Schmitz, M.S. '98

Laura Varriale, BBA '95, is now an assistant legal counsel at the Department of Public Instruction, where she advises and litigates cases related to school choice, school nutrition, teacher licensing, and employment issues among others. She also is a new mother to Marie-Therese Francesca Varriale.

Laura Varriale, BBA '95

Pete Theisen, MBA '98, has recently been promoted to vice president, marketing, for Purina Animal Nutrition LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes. Pete has held various marketing roles at Land O’Lakes since starting there directly after graduation from UW.

Pete Theisen, MBA '98

Reena Prasad Vokoun, BBA '98, has held numerous positions in digital media and advertising sales for 16 years at companies like Google, Yahoo, Reebok, CNET, and GE. She recently decided to leave her corporate career and launch Passion Fit, a health, wellness and fitness company. As an experienced fitness instructor and YouTube fitness video expert, Reena encourages people to improve their quality of life through classes, blog entries and free workout videos.

Reena Prasad Vokoun, BBA '98

Seanne Falconer, BBA '98, was recruited by the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, to lead the organization's administration, finance, recruiting, and fundraising as the new cancer center associate director for administration after six years at Harvard Medical School as the director of clinical research operations for Harvard Catalyst. She and her husband, Moldovan cat, and twin toddler sons have relocated from Boston to Minneapolis.

Seanne Falconer, BBA '98

Tahminae Madani, BBA '94, recently celebrated ten years as a financial services entrepreneur in France. It has always been a dream of hers to live in Paris. She now helps clients around the world achieve their dreams of owning property there. She is grateful to the Wisconsin School of Business for providing a great base to build her business career, and she still remembers Professor Neil Ford's great lectures on marketing.

Tahminae Madani, BBA '94

Tim Oswald, BBA '98, was recently promoted to vice president of compensation and benefits for Regal.

Tim Oswald, BBA '98

Warren Francart, BBA '91, is the director, IT services, kitchen and bath at Kohler Co. in Green Bay, Wis. He is very proud to be a Badger and to have attended one of the finest institutions in the world with one of the best student bodies.

Warren Francart, BBA '91

Zamia Baerga, MBA '98, has had a successful career in economic development and is currently the secretary of economic development for the Autonomous Municipality of Caguas. She works developing and executing public policy in areas such as entrepreneurship, tourism, and downtown development.

Zamia Baerga, MBA '98

Amanda Dwyer, BBA '00, and her husband Pat welcomed their first child, Lucy Elaine, on May 6, 2014. She looks forward to many Badger events in her lifetime!

Amanda Dwyer, BBA '00

Brandon Wiltgen, BBA '03, recently started a role with Wells Fargo Business Banking, providing financial solutions to businesses with between $2 million and $20 million in annual revenue. He covers a territory stretching from eastern Iowa to western and southern Illinois.

Brandon Wiltgen, BBA '03

Bryan Becker, BBA '00, has been hired as vice president of finance and administration at Landaas & Company, an independent investment firm based in Milwaukee. He came to Landaas from Artisan Partners, where he had been controller and helped grow the firm into a publicly traded global company.

Bryan Becker, BBA '00

Bryon Shannon, BBA '09, is launching his second start-up this winter called Hashup. Hashup is a mobile app that makes web browsing more social, using the power of hashtags. Now you can link a website to a relevant hashtag and connect with others who love the same hashtags you do. His first start-up, Wisconsin Relic, was a student apparel company on campus.

Bryon Shannon, BBA '09

Christopher Scheer, BBA '07, passed all three levels of the CFA program and has officially obtained the CFA charter after several years of studying and test taking. The chartered financial analyst (CFA) credential has become the most respected and recognized investment designation in the world, and he expects it to help him continue to succeed with his career objectives.

Christopher Scheer, BBA '07

Jake Wood, BBA '05, served four years in the United States Marine Corps after graduation from the Wisconsin School of Business and is now co-founder and CEO of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit organization that deploys emergency response teams of skilled and experienced military veterans to disaster zones. This fall, Wood’s first book, Take Command, was published. Take Command shows how to apply lessons in high-stakes leadership to your professional life. Wood has received awards including the UW Forward Under Forty award, the Big Ten Conference’s Live Big award, and GQ magazine’s Better Men, Better World award. In 2012 Jake was named a CNN Hero.

Jake Wood, BBA '05

Jara Kern, MBA '08, changed jobs in May, leaving her position as director, marketing and communications, at the Chicago Humanities Festival for Roosevelt University, where she is now assistant vice president, marketing and student communications. She is happy to be on a college campus again as the fall semester gets underway. She and her husband, Ben Burney, MBA ’08, love raising their two future Business Badgers, Isla and Ameline.

Jara Kern, MBA '08, Ben Burney, MBA '08

Jason Hall, B.S. '09, accepted a position at Stanford early in 2014 as a data analyst for Stanford's Office of Development.

Jason Hall, B.S. '09

Jerry Widjaja, BBA '05, worked for Deloitte in Minneapolis from 2006 to 2008. He passed the CPA exam in 2006, obtained CPA designation in 2008, and went on to get his MBA from Baruch College in New York City. He moved to Canada in 2011 and worked with Deloitte Canada until he started working with KPMG as an audit manager in September 2014.

Jerry Widjaja, BBA '05

Joe Sweeney, BBA '04, is the co-founder, CEO, and board member of 100state, an organization in Madison that creates a community and home for problem-solvers, creatives, and entrepreneurs, inspiring collaboration and creating connections to unleash the community’s potential. The company recently celebrated its one-year anniversary at the Overture Center with over 500 people in attendance and boasts more than 150 members and over 40 start-ups in just its first year.

Joe Sweeney, BBA '04

John Oros, MBA '09, joined Anheuser-Busch as director, strategic marketing, in October. He and his wife, Erin, have relocated from Chicago to St. Louis.

John Oros, MBA '09

Kaitlyn Pauly, BBA '09, M.Acc. '10, and Andy Pauly, MBA '10, were married in July 2014 in Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio. They met on the last day of the spring semester, just before they graduated, in professors James Johannes and Robert Cramer's bank simulation class.

Kaitlyn Pauly, BBA '09, M.Acc. '10, Andy Pauly, MBA '10

Karyn Christianson, BBA '09, was promoted in July to key account manager on the Target team and is moving from Denver to Minneapolis.

Karyn Christianson, BBA '09

Kathryne Auerback, MBA '07, is the new director at the National Center for Student Life (NCSL). NCSL provides resources for collegiate student leadership development and student affairs professional development. Since 1978, NCSL has hosted the National Conference on Student Leadership, with programs based on the social change model of leadership for making a meaningful difference. Sustain Dane named Kathryne a Badger Bioneer, a "thinker and doer for sustainable change."

Kathryn Auerback, MBA '07

Kurt Kober, MBA '07, co-founder of Red Clay, a San Francisco­–based enterprise design crowdsourcing company, recently closed a $1 million round of funding to support the company's growth with several Fortune 10 customers.

Kurt Kober, MBA '07

Laura Gramann, BBA '07, launched Pieces into Place earlier this year, which focuses on home and office organization in the Milwaukee area. Laura received a degree in Management and Human Resources from the Wisconsin School of Business and worked at Google since her graduation. She left Google to pursue her passion of helping people through her organizational skills. Pieces into Place helps people organize and be able to focus on the important things in life through assistance in reducing clutter, downsizing, migrating from paper to online files, packing, and implementing organization tools and methods. She is happy to offer all Badgers and friends of Badgers a $50 discount off their first organizing session!

Laura Gramann, BBA '07

Leslie Koppenhafer, MBA '06, recently received her Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Oregon. She is currently an assistant professor of marketing at Boise State University.

Leslie Koppenhafer, MBA '06

Michael Holland, BBA '02, and his wife, Anna Piacentine Holland, a fellow Badger alum, welcomed their first child on April 11, 2014. Jack Michael Holland weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and is already a Badger football fan.

Michael Holland, BBA '02

Nina Pascucci Ferraro, BBA '05, and her husband recently welcomed the arrival of their second child, Stasia Gabrielle, on July 10, 2014. She joins her older brother, Rome Mitchell.

Nina pascucci Ferarro, BBA '05

Rill Hodari, MBA '04, launched a beta version of www.alittlebitofhappiness.com, a fashion crowd-funding website aimed at supporting users with job readiness, life transitions, and various achievements that are made more powerful with a specific apparel purchase.

Rill Hodari, MBA '04

Ryan Jensen, BBA '02, M.Acc. '03, recently moved from Chicago to the Bay Area to join Kaiser Permanente, an innovative leader for integrated healthcare headquartered in Oakland, Calif. He joined the Corporate Controller Department as an executive director to lead efforts around new accounting standards and standardized statutory reporting as well as to provide technical accounting expertise.

Ryan Jensen, BBA '02, M.Acc. '03

Saqib Mustafa, MBA '07, married the love of his life and traveled all over the world on his honeymoon and attending other wedding receptions. He has switched jobs and started working for Teradata as a market leader in data analytics. He is responsible for cloud sales in North America to help customers understand their end-customers and solve business problems using data.

Saqib Mustafa, MBA '07

Susan Gotrik, BBA '09, and her husband Kevin (B.S. ’08) are expecting their third little girl this October. They are happily settled back in the Midwest after five years at MIT in Boston.

Susan Gotrik, BBA '09

Tony Dao, BBA '09, married the love of his life, Sara, in June 2014.

Tony Dao, BBA '09

Zach Davis, BBA '08, sold his 10,000th copy of Appalachian Trials, a book about how to hike the Appalachian Trail, and was named the Top Hiking and Outdoor Blogger by USA Today.

Zach Davis, BBA '08

Abby Taubner, BBA '14, started working for gener8tor, a Wisconsin-based start-up accelerator with offices in Milwaukee and Madison. After holding an internship at gener8tor for a year, she is excited to be working full time as the program manager alongside two other UW alumni, Troy Vosseller and Joe Kirgues, as well as Jon Eckhardt, executive director of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship and associate professor of management and human resources at the Wisconsin School of Business.

Abby Taubner, BBA '14

Alyson Ambrookian, BBA '14, started a full-time position in August 2014 with the Milwaukee Bucks as a corporate partnership activation specialist. She is happy to be bridging her two passions, marketing and sports, as a young professional.

Alyson Ambrookian, BBA '14

Bob Usselman, MBA '13, was promoted from marketing supervisor at 3M to precision grinding and finishing marketing supervisor in October and named number one national sales professional in 2013

Bob Usselman, MBA '13

Brian Copsey, BBA '11, M.Acc. '12, accepted a new position with Pine River Capital Management, joining a new fundamental long/short equity strategy based in Austin, Texas

Brian Copsey, BBA '11, M.Acc. '12

Carly Jean Nelson, BBA ’13, graduated last December and has since moved to California to start her first job with Nestle USA in a three-year human resources rotational program. She has found herself surrounded by Badgers on the West Coast and is looking forward to meeting many more wherever life takes her.

Carly Jean Nelson, BBA '13

Drew Vernon, MBA '12, started a new job as assistant brand manager at Kao Corporation in Cincinnati, Ohio. He will be responsible for leading a new product launch for Jergens lotion

Drew Veronon, MBA '12

Jason Black, MBA '10, was recently promoted to CFO of a $200 million privately held company operating in the agriculture industry, directly serving growers of wheat and other crops consumed around the globe. His MBA from the Wisconsin School of Business helped develop and hone many of the hard skills the position requires.

Jason Black, MBA '10

Jenny Condon, MBA '14, recently got promoted to a new role as vice president, e-commerce and business development, for Merrick Natural Petworks in Evanston, Ill.

Jenny Condon, MBA '14

Mallory Phillips, BBA '10, recently accepted a position as a marketing communications manager for Medline International. She has relocated to Arnhem, the Netherlands, where she is enjoying her job and the new European lifestyle while continuing to cheer for the Badgers from abroad. She thanks Wisconsin School of Business director of international programs Sachin Tuli for the international training!

Mallory Phillips, BBA '10

Michael Nemmetz, BBA '10, has worked at Apple since his graduation from UW. He has managed both operations and scheduling for his location for several years and now uses his energy to enrich the lives of Apple’s internal employees through mentoring, training, and onboarding of new hires.

Michael Nemmetz, BBA '10

Michael Werner, BBA '12, has cultivated and co-managed a co-working space called TechArtista where he also serves as director of business development. There, he and his team launched the most successful Kickstarter in St. Louis history for SYNEK, raising $650,000. SYNEK is a countertop open-sourced beer dispenser that has been coined the “Keurig of Beer.” SYNEK is in 43 countries, has over 2,078 pre-orders and is beginning mass production.

Michael Werner, BBA '12

Myles Hornberger, BBA '12, moved to San Francisco after graduation for a financial forecasting role for a semiconductor company. A year later, his fiancé got into medical school in Denver, where he is now a forecasting manager for DISH Network and has been in this role for just over a year.

Myles Hornberger, BBA '12

Xiao (Sean) Ma, Ph.D. '14, has started a new job as assistant professor in information systems at Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, after successfully completing his Ph.D. from the Wisconsin School of Business Operations and Information Management department.

Xiao (Sean) Ma, Ph.D. '14

UPDATE

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Table of Contents

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Cover Story

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Featured Stories

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Class Notes

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Report to Investors

Learn about the school's achievements and progress in a year of expansion.

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Letter from the Dean

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